In the past, Miami going on the road against a G5 school with a winning record would have been met with some trepidation. Not in 2023! Miami traveled up to Philadelphia and laid a beating on poor old Temple. How did it look on film? Find out below.
First play and Mauigoa definitely jumped that run fit, but what I liked seeing is how physical Couch is on the slip screen portion of this play at the top of screen. He was immediately into this blocker and pushed him five yards backwards.
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When they talk about why true freshmen defensive linemen can sometimes struggle against the run and it being an age position, they’re talking about things like this. The LT has enough strength to turn Bain inside here, when Bain is supposed to stay on the outside shoulder of this blocker. RB gets outside, but the Canes do a good job of spilling and it goes nowhere.
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Harvey beats his block, splits the gap, forces this RB to cut back and then makes a TFL. Excellent play from a player who is quietly developing this year into a good and important player.
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We loop Taylor and Bain on 3rd down and Temple does a nice job passing this off, but look at the nice hand usage from Taylor to catch the RT in the middle of his slide and use that inside hand to get under the armpit and push him away to get into the gap and force a throwaway. Top level stuff.
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Most fans know what a jump cut is when they see, but this is what a quick one looks like from the base. Chaney is supposed to be following pullers through a hole outside, but the Temple defender does a good job of doing what I talked about earlier that Bain didn’t do on the edge and gets his outside shoulder across the body of the OL. Chaney has his left foot forward as he’s going into the hole, but explodes off that foot and already has the right leg pointed towards the sideline that he’s going to bounce to. This sort of leg explosion and hip flexibility from a RB his size is also top level.
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For you Dolphins’ fans, you saw a variation of this play several times on Sunday for big success. Whereas the Dolphins did a toss as the means to get the ball to the RB, this was a straight handoff, with George coming down and delivering the crackback block on the edge. You want to see a shift in culture evident on film? Look at George at 176 pounds putting his body into a starting G5 edge player to block for his brothers. Doubtful you’d see this same effort a year ago. Play doesn’t work without this block to get outside. Then Young gives a block on his defender up top as well, but I specifically wanted to highlight George here as he put this guy on the ground.
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There will be no Restrepo slander on any thread I’m in. This kid makes the offense go with so many little plays that I call “winning plays.” This is a full extension catch, in traffic, on 3rd and 8, where he gets popped from behind as he’s landing. He still spins off the tackle and gets one yard to convert the 1st down. If he doesn’t catch this pass, you’re punting. Size, athleticism, speed all matter. No doubt about it. But the ability to do the right things over and over again matter so much as the receiver position and are the reasons you will see Restrepo in a camp at the next level. We are not the same team without X.
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Want to see a dead body? Cooper puts this DT flat on his back with power. Cooper’s job on this play is to root out the DT and move him towards he C. Mission accomplished.
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You don’t see this much, but when you do it’s normally successful because NT’s simply aren’t used to being the read player in the run game. Canes let Allen Haye go and he flies upfield and they just hit it right behind him for a big play that nearly scores. RT fans out to catch the pressure off the edge and it’s a mauling. Just look at Matt Lee and Cohen working together and Cooper and Mauigoa on the other side. Teaching tape.
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This is a simple read for TVD. He’s reading the field corner. If he is up in press and doesn’t bail, the corner to Restrepo will be wide open. If the corner bails, you throw to Young. I’d say that’s some nice pass protection as well.
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Couch is late and tries to jump the pick and gets burned.
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Couch gets a gift interception when their QB just throws up a lollipop. Not sure what was happening there as Couch was eyeing the QB the entire time and it was never there. Not pictured.
That’s a pretty great catch by Young. TD.
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Miami drops James Williams into the box as the third LB and then plays Cover-3 with middle of the field closed. Drop the edge (Nyjalik) into pass coverage to the top of the screen. This makes KJ Cloyd (who was playing Star) become gap defender with Williams having flats and force. Right here his read is just what I wrote- flats or force. He shows his inexperience with playing LB here as he jumps out of this gap and inside, when if he just attacks as soon as the handoff is made to the left of Harvey here he has an easy TFL. Cloyd forces the run back inside and Harvey makes the tackle, but it was an error by James that could’ve turned a solid play into a good play.
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Up top, Miami runs a pretty standard triangle on 2 coverage, with the Mike taking the RB swing. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Interior they play two 3T’s in Taylor and JHH and the ends rush wide. But the real play here is made by the quick trigger by Bissainthe, who is already attacking this slip screen before the QB has even separated yet (separated his hands to begin his throwing motion). Truthfully, with the blocking and the coverage (3 x 2 on both sides) this play call had no chance. It speaks to Miami’s coaches being prepared for this situation. Final part I liked here is how Francisco didn’t panic and put his head down and chase the RB. He has eyes on the QB in case it’s a draw. Very sound defensive structure against an anticipated quick pass.
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Miami asked Jaden Wayne to cover a RB out of the backfield and they had the perfect setup. Seam route occupied the Mike and then an angle route that Wayne had no chance to cover over the middle. Huge play. Not pictured.
Why is Leonard Taylor a projected 1st round pick? Because 300+ pound humans shouldn’t be this quick and flexible. Slaps the inside hand with his left, swims with the right. Result is “getting skinny” and a tiny target to shoot for by the OL. Sack lunch. Look at Lichtenstein soaking up a double at NT.
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Lichtenstein played a nice game. Gets pressure immediately on the 4th down and the DE doesn’t let the QB escape.
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Fletcher fumbles here, but I’m just glad he didn’t get hurt. This looked rough.
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Bain gets way out of his lane here. This play or QB it didn’t matter, but it will against Travis and others, so I’m sure he got some coaching in film. QB throws it into the muddle of bodies that he’s staring down. I don’t mean to be critical, but Warner’s son isn’t very good.
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Thomas Gore is small and sometimes gets swallowed up in the run game, but he’s also very quick and powerful. He has beaten this LG to his outside shoulder in a half of a step. He gets pressure directly in the face of the QB, which prevents him from stepping up. Bain on the other side gets a hustle sack/strip as the QB is setting to throw. Great play from both DL. Both Lichtenstein and Gore played very well in this game. The DT spot goes several bodies deep this year and that’s a new thing for this program. Funny exchange afterwards, Gore asks Bain “did you get it?” and Bain points at his chest and said “I GOT IT!”
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Something I really enjoy when I watch film on Henry Parrish is just how well he understands how to use his vision. He’s getting the handoff here at the mesh and is already aligning his body to hit that cutback lane because he can see his initial path is not there. That body positioning right now is why he’s able to play faster than his timed speed. He picks up a 1st down on this play.
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Timing throw and generally wouldn’t critique an aggressive play, but X is wide open for an easy 1st down on this play and if he reads the leverage of the defender he sees it quickly. This was a predetermined throw by TVD when he saw 1-on-1 and no safety shade. By the way, this pocket is laugh out loud.
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Again, this is what makes Parrish great. He has just gotten this football and the DT slanted inside of Mauigoa trying to trap him. Parrish is already positioning himself to bounce this and follow Restrepo. He scores here.
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Miami plays a prevent defense and allows Temple to go down the field before half. Would like to see a little more emphasis on ending the half stronger there. Temple gets a TD on a bit of a lucky play, but this is a lesson that even bad teams can move the ball on passive coverage. Couch is right there but just loses his eye discipline and completely leaves the receiver once the QB releases the ball. No idea why, maybe he thought the ball was going to be short when the QB got hit.
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Parrish takes this outside and nearly houses it. His feet are fantastic.
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Parrish does score this one. I don’t know his PFF grade in this one, but it should be elite.
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Have to point out an effort issue here. #22 is just jogging. He takes for granted the play is over because Miami has him hemmed in. Returner gets out of this mess and goes right where Jaden Davis should be to tackle him.
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He’s a freaky athlete when he gets some space. Taylor is beating everyone off-the-snap.
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Temple doesn’t see athletes like this on the DL in their conference. Everyone tries to cut. Taylor just avoids both and Bain just bunny hops over the guy trying to cut him. This is extremely impressive that all four DL avoided the cuts.
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The very next play they go for it on 4th down and Taylor just destroys his man again. What do you do against this if you’re Temple? Stay healthy, Leonard. Couch picks this off as QB’s late. One small nitpick that almost no one will actually do; Couch, understand it’s 4th down. Just bat it down and you gain a ton more yards than a diving interception downfield. Then an unsportsmanlike penalty and the ball is 35 yards further downfield than you would’ve had it.
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When your TE can trap starting DE’s and your C can get to 2nd level on pulls, you’re in trouble as a defense on the perimeter. Shoutout to Cohen as well for getting this kickout block on the force player.
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The game is essentially over at this point.
By the numbers:
- Miami outgained Temple 540 to 279
- 320 rushing yards to 11!
- Miami scored on 7/12 drives (58%)
- 4.56 points per opportunity
- Miami had 135 line yards, or 4.8 line yards per rush
- Meaning the OL was responsible for 4.8 yards before contact on each rush
- Temple created 0 havoc plays in this game, which is remarkable
- Miami had a success rate of 56.3% while Temple was at only 31.7%
- Gap of 24.6% is fantastic
- Miami had an EPA (Expected Points Added) per play of 0.46 which is excellent
On the season:
- Miami is third in the ACC defensively, allowing a 33.9% success rate
- 28.7 rushing, 37.0% passing (passing the ball is more efficient)
- Miami is sixth in Havoc rate (20.2%) with 13.3% coming from front-7 and 6.9% from DB
- Miami leads in line yards per rush (2.23) meaning the ball carrier goes 2.23 yards before contact
- They are second in 2nd level yards at 0.71 (speaking to improved LB play)
- They lead in open field yards (0.48), meaning they’re limiting explosive run plays
- Overall, they are fourth in Expected Points Per Play at 0.05 EPA per play
- Offensively, Miami is rushing 53.6% of the time (46.0% passing) which is about average in ACC
- Miami is third in success rate at 52.0% (49.3% rushing, 55.7% passing)
- Interestingly, Clemson is second, I wouldn’t have expected that (Louisville first)
- Miami is tied for the lead in Net Success Rate at 18.1% positive (Clemson and Louisville as well)
- Miami leads in line yards at 3.88, meaning it is 3.88 yards before the RB is contacted
- 1.62 second-level yards leads
- 1.60 open-field yards is 8th, so fewer explosive open-field runs than expected
- Overall, Miami leads in EPA at 0.50. Rushing is at 0.32 and passing at 0.71.
- Dawson has this team scoring 0.71 expected points every time they throw the ball, an absurd number
- Louisville is run by a passing genius HC and they are leading at 0.86
Overall:
Temple is not a good football team. They are weak on the OL, susceptible to the run on defense, and do not really challenge Miami in ways that they are vulnerable (running QB, downfield weapons). That all said, Miami did what was expected in this game and thoroughly outclassed Temple even while missing four starters (Deen, Mesidor, Kinchens, Arroyo).
ACC play will bring consistent challenges, as the depth of the conference is the best it has been in years. Practically every opponent from here on out will bring challenges in some way, other than maybe Virginia.
The goal from here is to get healthy on the DL, crush GT, then get to UNC undefeated and ready to prove some pundits wrong. Been a fun season thus far, thanks for reading along.
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